The Virtual Event Moderator: The Most Underrated Role in Event Success

Never underestimate the importance of a moderator.

In virtual events, the moderator is not the filler between speakers. The moderator is the glue that holds the entire experience together.

When virtual events succeed, audiences credit the content. When they fail, audiences quietly blame the flow. That flow lives or dies with the moderator.

After coaching executives, hosts, and moderators for global virtual events across industries, I can say this with confidence: a skilled moderator can elevate average content, while a weak moderator can sabotage brilliant material.

Here is a proven, platform-agnostic framework any virtual event moderator can use to deliver a polished, professional, high-impact experience.

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When Brilliant Executives Suddenly Need Presentation Skills

I am frequently asked how I work with executives who are exceptional at what they do and have never had the time, opportunity, or need to improve their presentation skills.

Until.

A new position.
Higher visibility.
And a mandatory 45-minute presentation to senior leadership and the board of directors.

Now the stakes are high.
The pressure is real.
And suddenly, being brilliant is not enough.

That is usually when they meet me.

Meet Sandy: Smart, Capable, and Under Pressure

Sandy is a new client. She is not a seasoned speaker and is understandably anxious. Her next presentation to the board matters personally and professionally.

Her boss was direct. She told Sandy she needed the Fripp Edge:

  • Audience-first language
  • Strong structure
  • Persuasive message
  • A close that lingers

In our very first coaching session, we worked directly on her script. Not theory. Not platitudes. Precision.

That is where transformation always begins.

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Why Coming to America at 20 With $500 Seemed Like a Good Idea

January 18 is my personal anniversary. It is the day I arrived in the United States.

When people ask, “Why did you come to America at age 20 with no job, no contacts, and $500?” my honest answer is, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

And it did.

At that point in England, expectations for young women were modest, at best. I had met exactly two people who had ever been to the United States. Like many, I knew America through Hollywood movies. Big dreams, bold personalities, and the promise that anything might be possible.

I will not tell you how many decades ago that was. Let’s just say… a few.

Looking back, I smile at the confidence of youth. The certainty that nothing could possibly go wrong. That sense of adventure, mixed with ignorance and optimism, can be a powerful combination.

Whenever I think of that moment in my life, I think of my dear friend Layne Longfellow, PhD. CPAE who passed away in 2019. Layne was my favorite speaker to watch, bar none.

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Enjoy the Results When You Maximize the Power of Well-Chosen Words

Recently, I was interviewed by my NSA colleague Shannon J. Gregg, PhD, for her Life Sciences Sales Lab podcast, and she asked a question that took me straight back to the early 1990s.

“Patricia, when was the first time you coached a scientist?”

That honor goes to my next-door neighbor, Mike Powell. In the mid-1990s, he was a senior scientist at Genentech and deeply involved in research on the AIDS virus. I invited Mike to speak to a group of highly successful women in business, all members of the Continental Breakfast Club.

Before his talk, I suggested, “Most people don’t really know what scientists do. Open by giving us a high-level picture they can relate to.”
Mike didn’t disappoint. He opened by saying:
“𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐣𝐢𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞… 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦… 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞.”

You could feel the shift in the room. Everyone leaned forward.

That is the power of a great opening. It creates instant understanding and emotional engagement.
For his close, I encouraged Mike to tie back to that opening and, if possible, elevate it with an inspirational point that reinforced his theme.
He did exactly that.

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Your First Step is to Think

It is never too early to begin thinking about a speech.

Before they meet me, many of my corporate clients believe “preparation” starts the week before the presentation. Some believe it starts the night before. Too many believe it starts when they open PowerPoint.

That is not preparation. That is assembly.

A powerful presentation begins long before you write a single sentence or design a single slide.

It begins with thinking. Observing. Listening.

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Design Your Best Year Ever: How High Performers Turn Intention into Income

Every December, I hear the exact phrase from talented professionals and speakers: “Next year is going to be my best year ever.”
Naturally, I am one of them! However, I am smart enough to know that hope is not a strategy. High performers do not drift into exceptional years. They design them.

If we want the coming year to outperform the last, we must begin with the end in mind. Decide, in advance, what success looks like for you. Not vaguely. Most experts will tell you to focus on how much you want to earn. I am going to encourage you to focus on what work energizes you, and what drains you? Clarity at the beginning increases the likelihood you will make good choices.

One of the most powerful confidence builders I know is the calendar. My late friend Jeanne Robertson taught me a lesson I have shared with executives and speakers for decades: schedule your life before you plan your work. In January, block your vacations, family celebrations, and personal priorities first. Then sell what is left. When you control your calendar, you stop reacting and start leading. That sense of control translates directly into confidence, credibility, and better decision-making.

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Do You Know How Long Before True Performers Earn their Success?

One December evening, with some of my closest friends, Joe Veneto, Marilyn Sherman, and Ford Saeks, I watched Frankie Moreno at his Christmas show at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz.

As seasoned professional speakers, we were not simply entertained. We were reminded of something essential.

True performers earn their success over decades, not moments.

Frankie’s career began long before Las Vegas headliner status.

He grew up in Santa Cruz. CA and every day he practised signing before he went to school.

At age ten, he appeared on Star Search, singing and playing piano on national television. The show aired after his eleventh birthday, which is why many people remember him as “11.” He did not win. And that is precisely the point.

What he gained instead was far more valuable than a trophy.
Experience. Exposure. And the discipline of performing under pressure.

That early foundation led to international touring as a teenager, to recording albums, to performing with orchestras, and to steadily building mastery. Years later, millions saw his versatility on Dancing with the Stars. As a longtime fan, that remains my favorite video because it revealed not just talent, but total command.

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Why the Best Business Deals Are Won Before the Numbers Are Negotiated

Why the Best Business Deals Are Won Before the Numbers Are Negotiated

When my friend Michael Sipe, a brilliant mergers and acquisitions specialist, was building his reputation as a business broker, I helped him craft speeches to market his expertise. Mike has always understood something many professionals overlook:

Most business deals are not won on price. They are won on positioning, perception, and personal chemistry.

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You May Be Shocked at What the Sales Manager Admitted

A few years ago, during a presentation-skills training session, the sales leaders sat in the room and heard what I was teaching. After the first lunch break, the national sales manager walked to the front of the room, looked at his sixty top associates, and said, “At lunch, the executive sales team and I decided we have no idea how we managed to sell anything before we met Patricia.”

As you can imagine, that got everyone’s attention.

He explained, “It takes us a year to earn the opportunity to deliver an hour-long presentation to a small group of executives from one of our prospects. At that point, a new client relationship is worth between five and ten million dollars.”

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The Appalling State of Applause

The Appalling State of Applause

At the National Speakers Association, we joke that everyone—including the salad chef—gets a standing ovation. Funny, yes. Accurate, no. Most conferences are far more restrained.

My other association family is the Professional Speechwriters Association, and this year’s conference was one of the best I have ever attended. Early on, we heard from a moderated panel of four seasoned speechwriters discussing the challenges of working in today’s politically charged environment. Their insights were thoughtful. Their stories were brave. Their message was organized, polished, and delivered with clarity.

As they finished—before the Q&A—I was ready for thunderous applause.

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